The Night War

Trail of Cthulhu Conversion notes

The Night War is a Call of Cthulhu scenario written by Kevin Ross and published in New Tales of Miskatonic Valley by Miskatonic River Press in 2008. New Tales of Miskatonic Valley, which marks the return of Keith Herber to writing and editing for Call of Cthulhu, is a new collection of scenarios taking place in the Lovecraft Country of the Miskatonic River Valley in the 1920s. This scenario uses locations appearing in Chaosiums Kingsport sourcebook (published as Kingsport, The City in the Mists and H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport). The sourcebook is not required to run this scenario. Keepers can adapt the scenario to another setting; most of the scenario takes place in a nightmare world, and the real world locations can easily appear in any number of locales. It can also be set in another time. The Investigators will be plunged into the psychodrama of a veterans anguished mind for three nights in a row. During the day, the Investigators can seek clues into the full nature of McKennas turmoil. These clues will help the Investigators find McKennas dream self and alleviate his suffering. If the Investigators do not bring the former soldier solace, the waking world still returns to normal when he dies in his hospital bed. In the nightmares, the Investigators will face numerous tests involving Stability. Many of these will be potential losses from destabilizing events, while others are tests to navigate and understand the dreamscape; these second tests are similar to the ones required in casting spells and resisting them. While the second type of Stability test does not necessarily entail a Stability loss for failure (though it may cause a test to avoid such a loss), there will usually be some negative consequence. Even if the Keeper does not typically reveal Difficulty Numbers of tests, it is advisable to make clear the difference between the types of tests when calling for them so that players can choose to spend or not accordingly. A few things will mitigate some of the constant threat of Stability loss. Each morning, a portion of Stability points lost during the previous nights nightmare will be regained. Also, some of the tests to interact with the nightmare battlefield can be made with Sense Trouble instead, a useful option for Investigators who can avail themselves of it. And veterans will have an easier time making tests to avoid Stability loss against horrors similar to what they experienced during the war.

Keeper Information
Willson McKenna, troubled war veteran
(Page 106)

Athletics 2, Firearms 3, Fleeing 3, Health 6, Sense Trouble 5, Struggling 4, Weapons 2 Hit Threshold: 3 Weapon: -2 (fist)

Investigator Information
(Page 106)

The Keeper should determine which Investigators, if any, fought in the Great War. Any who are veterans retain their rank in the dream, and in addition test Stability against a difficulty of 3 for non-supernatural events. The Keeper also needs to keep track of each Investigators Stability pool loss, as when the dream ends the overall totals are halved, since its just a dream. The supernatural events in the nightmares conjured by McKennas anguished mind do not cause Mythos shocks, so Sanity should not be lost during the Night War. Also, the Difficulty Number to encounter the nightmare creatures is the 4.

Night One: The Night War Begins

The Dream
(Page 108)

Greatcoats reduce damage from small knives, improvised weapons, fists, or clubs by 1 point. Helmets reduce damage from bullets and cutting or slashing weapons by 2 points, and from clubs or blunt trauma by 1 point. Generally speaking, blunt weapons are reduced by 1 point regardless of where a target wearing

both items is hit. The Keeper can decide where bullets and cutting or slashing weapons hit. Charging Investigators need 1d6 rounds of movement to reach an area of relative safety. Each round of movement requires a Stability or Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4. If a test is failed, roll 2d6 and consult the Random Movement Event Table, using the appropriate modifiers.

feet and remain prone for a number of rounds equal to the damage taken, rounded down. 12You stumble into a coil of barbed wire, snaring yourself on its barbs, suffering 1d6-2 damage. You can either: A) yank yourself free, requiring an Athletics test against difficulty 6. Failure indicates you remain trapped and must make a Stability test against difficulty 4 next round or roll again on this table with a +2 modifier, or: B) wriggle out of the snared greatcoat, abandoning it, and its armor value. Make a Stability test against difficulty 4 next round, or roll again on this table with a +1 modifier, or: C) spend 3 rounds cutting yourself free with wire cutters (if you have them). Make a Stability test against difficulty 4 each round or roll on this table again, without modifiers. 13+A stray shot grazes you, inflicting 1d6-1 points of damage. Modifiers Hiding in cover: Firing from cover: Prone/crawling in the open: Charging forward: Standing in the open:

Random Movement Event Table

(Page 108)

2 or lessNo effect! 2A bullet hits your helmet, knocking it off, and knocking you down. Take 1 point of damage and begin next round in a prone position. 3A mortar strikes several yards away and a soldiers tattered body flies twenty feet through the air to land in your path. 3-point Stability test. 4A wounded man crawls up to you, grabs you around the legs and croaks Help me then vomits blood on you and dies. 1-point Stability test. 5A mortar explodes close enough to send you to your knees. Another soldier stops to help you up, but a bullet rips through him, splattering you with his blood as he falls atop you. 3-point Stability test and begin next round from prone position. 6A legless soldier lies screaming in your path. 2point Stability test. 7A severed head rolls to a stop at your feet, its open eyes staring up at you. 3-point Stability test. 8A headless corpse falls at your feet. 3-point Stability test. 9A flying object knocks you down, inflicting 1 point of damage. Its a severed leg3-point Stability test. 10A grenade explodes a few yards away and you suffer 1d6-2 damage. Then make a 3-point Stability test as you realize part of the shrapnel sticking out of your shoulder is a human jawbone. 11A grenade explodes a few yards away and you suffer 1d6+1 damage. You are knocked off your

-2 -1 0 +1 +2

Crossing the Night War

(Page 108-109)

The Keeper may wish to have the Investigators occasionally make Stability or Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4 to avoid having to roll on the Random Movement Table as they enter zones of enemy fire. The Investigators may also encounter 1d6+1 other human soldiers as they cross the battlefield. If an Investigator decides to explore the eerie, cramped, muddy passages and underground chambers, he or she should roll a die. On a result of 1, he or she has found one of the asterisked items from the list below, subject to his or her needs and Keepers discretion. On a result of 2 or 3, the Investigator finds one of the non-asterisked items or some other useful trinket. On a result of 4 to 6, those in the area are attacked by one of the following, chosen by

the Keeper: 1d6 Skull Soldiers, 1d6 Gas Mask Men, a Trench Crawler, the Ghost Gas, or an artillery shelling.

Possible Forage Items

(Page 109)

*M1917 Rifle & 5d6 rounds *Very Pistol (flare gun) & 2d6 flare rounds Steel helmet Greatcoat Bandages Gas Mask Trench Club *Grenades (1d6) *.45 Revolver & 5d6 rounds Periscope Wire Cutters Trench Knife *Browning Automatic Rifle & 1d6 full magazines *Mortar & 1d6+1 rounds

Weapons of the Night War

(Page 109)

man glaring down on the devastation, which causes a 1-point Stability test. 5. As the Investigators wade through a muddy area, they hear a muffled grunt. Below them, half buried in the mud, are numerous corpses, groaning as the living tread over them. Witnessing this is a 3-point Stability test. 7. If the Keeper desires, the dead may begin to whisper and moan, as in the corpse field above, calling for a 3-point Stability test. 8. An Investigator hears a scuffle nearby. Approaching closer or illuminating the spot with a flare calls for a 3-point Stability test. 9. If the Keeper desires, he or she may give the Investigators a brief glimpse of the Colossus of Corpses crossing the battlefield in the distance. They see something briefly illuminated across the battlefield. It is a 2-point Stability test for catching a fleeting glimpse of this unknown titan. 10. 1-point Stability test for seeing the depleted and dilapidated force.

Optional Insanity in the Night War

(Page 110)

Bayonet (hand): -1 damage Bayonet (rifle): +0 damage Trench Knife: -1damage Trench Club (spiked): -1 damage Rifle Butt: -1 damage .45 Revolver: +1 damage, 6 shots Flare Pistol: +1 damage, 1 shot, Firearms test M1917 .30-06 Rifle: +1, 5 shots/clip Browning Automatic Rifle: +2 damage, 20 shots/magazine, requires bipod or prone firer, fully automatic M1917 Machine Gun: +2 damage, 250 shots/belt, requires bipod or prone firer, fully automatic (uses 20 bullets) Grenade: +3/+1/-2/X damage Mortar: +6/+3/0/X damage, Mechanical Repair test to fire

When an Investigators mind is blasted, rather than giving the Investigator a mental illness, the Keeper may wish to have the Investigator suffer one of the Nightmare Effects from the table, choosing as appropriate. The full list and more detail can be found in the original: 2. The Investigator finds him or herself sinking in the mud, or already stuck. An Athletics test against difficulty 6 (one test per round) is needed to pull the Investigator out. Investigators can cooperate on this test. All other Difficulty Numbers for tests increase by 1 until freed. 3. A strand of barbed wire creeps across the ground and snares one of the Investigators limbs. The wire cuts the victim for 1d6-2 damage, and must be removed with wire cutters or with an Athletics test against difficulty 6 (one test per round). All other Difficulty Numbers of tests increase by 1 until freed. 9. Unless the Investigators companions are able to rescue him or her, the Investigator must make an Athletics test against difficulty 8 (one test per round) to escape the steep pit.

Atmospheric Events
(Page 109-111)

The full list and more detail can be found in the original: 2. 3-point Stability test. 4. The Investigators see the vast black shape of a distant mountain looming over the battlefield. Anyone who makes a Stability test against difficulty 5 notices the dark shape resembles a

The Medical Tent

(Page 111-112)

Again, the Investigators come across a fire zone, calling for two Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4, each failure requiring a roll on the Random Movement Table. Two allied soldiers bearing a stretcher fall into the Investigators cover. Both are dead, and the sight calls for a 3-point Stability test. After the figure on the stretcher croaks about the medical tent and the light, any Investigator looking for the light can make a Sense Trouble test. As always, the Keeper should not reveal the Difficulty Number of this test, nor should the Keeper let the Investigators know if they succeeded or not. Any Investigator matching a difficulty of 3 to 5 makes out a dim yellowish light in the distance, back towards enemy lines. An Investigator matching a difficulty of 6, however, sees a different light, a dim white one on a rise behind them, in the opposite direction. If the Investigators carry the wounded man toward the yellow light, they should make at least two Stability or Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4, each failure requiring a roll on the Random Movement Table. Once they double back towards the white light, if the Keeper feels theyve had an easy time of it so far, they can make another two Stability or Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4 to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Table. Any Investigator who lives in Kingsport, or who has spent more than a few days there, may see that the hospital tent is on a rise that for some reason calls to mind the Congregational Hospital atop Central Hill. The Keeper should choose an Investigator who seems most likely to make this connection. Anyone entering the hospital tent must make a 4-point Stability test for seeing this mass of shredded humanity. Medicine, Chemistry, or Pharmacy spots several containers of ether within arms reach of the smoking doctors. Hurt or slightly wounded Investigators can get treated here, regaining up to 6 Health points, even if the wounds were spread over several scenes or have already been treated with First Aid. If the shell explodes next to the tent, Investigators who are still in the tent are caught

in a fiery explosion suffering 1d6+8 damage. Anyone who barely escaped still takes 1d6+1 damage.

The Nightmare Warriors

(Page 112)

Skull Soldiers, dead combatants

Athletics 3, Health 8, Firearms 9, Weapons 9 Hit Threshold: 3 Weapon: +1 (rifle), +0 (bayonet) Armor: steel helmet, greatcoat Stability Loss: +0

Gas Mask Men, evil combatants

Athletics 5, Health 7, Firearms 7, Weapons 11 Hit Threshold: 3 Weapon: +1 (rifle), +0 (bayonet) Armor: steel helmet, greatcoat Stability Loss: +0

Crater Things, lurking combatants

Appear Human: Investigators must make a Sense Trouble test against difficulty 6 to realize the crater things true nature. Grapple: The Crater Thing can attack twice against one opponent, testing against a difficulty of the targets Hit Threshold. If both grapple attacks hit, the Thing drags the target into the grasp of one of its leg tentacles, which does 1d6 constriction damage each round thereafter, unless the target breaks loose of its grasp with an Athletics test against difficulty 6. Athletics 4, Grapple 11, Health 9 Hit Threshold: 3 Weapon: +1 (grapple), see above Armor: -2 (rubbery hide) Stability Loss: +1

Encounters
Skull Soldiers
(Page 113)

If a Skull Soldier gets a 1 or 2 on a die roll it may fire from its rifle, otherwise it charges to the attack with its bayonet.

Gas Mask Men

(Page 113)

If a Gas Mask Man gets a 1 or 2 on a die roll it may fire from its rifle, otherwise it charges to the attack with its bayonet.

Ghost Gas, Spectral Predator

(Page 113)

The Nightmare Ends

(Page 114)

Asphyxiation: The Ghost Gas does not need to roll to use this ability; all targets at point blank range are affected (the Gas covers an area of approximately 20 feet, though it varies in size depending on how much its been fed). Targets must make a Stability test against difficulty 5 or lose 1d6-1 Health points. Half of the damage done is added to the Health pool of the gas as it expands in size. Athletics 6, Health 28 Hit Threshold: 3 Alertness: +2 Weapon: asphyxiation, see above Armor: normal weapons and cold have no effect. Fire does normal damage. Striking it with a torch does 1d6-1 damage. A flare gun does normal damage against it, as do explosives Stability Loss: +1

Each Investigator must roll a die. The Keeper then reads the descriptions to the Investigators, beginning with whoever rolled highest, and continuing down the list in order of the highest to lowest rolls. In the event of tied rolls, the Keeper should choose who to read to first.

Day Two: Awakening

Page 114)

Artillery
(Page 113)

A war veteran instantly recognizes the sound; otherwise a Sense Trouble test against difficulty 3 is needed to understand the peril. Anyone who understands the meaning of the screaming shells must make a 1-point Stability test. The first shells strike at long range from the Investigators. The shelling lasts for 1d6 rounds, and each round the shells fall one range closer than the last barrage, perhaps pounding right past them across the battlefield. Investigators who throw themselves into a crater or trench can make an Athletics or Fleeing test against difficulty 4 each round to avoid damage at close or point-blank range (no test is needed for longer ranges), though they may be showered with earth or even partially buried by the explosions. Failing the test, the Investigator takes 1 point of damage for a test result of 3 and 2 points of damage for a test result of 2. On a result of 1, the shell lands right on top of the Investigator, killing him or her instantly. If the Keeper wishes, the Investigators may find a trench deep enough to fully protect them from the bombardment. Anyone caught without cover takes full damage from the exploding shell: +17 at point-blank range, +8 damage at close range, +1 damage at near range, and -2 at long range.

The next morning, after the Investigators awake from their nightmares, they must make a Stability test against difficulty 4 to remember their dreams in their entirety. The Keeper should now halve each Investigators total Stability loss and apply it to the characters as they convince themselves the terrors of the night were merely a very bad, very realistic dream. No Investigator develops a lasting mental illness from the experience. All other General ability pools (including Health) are completely refreshed.

Recollections of Day One

(Page 114)

Core Clue: While they were visiting their hospitalized friend, an Investigator learned, in passing, that the patient in the neighboring bed is in a coma. Also, an Investigator recalls hearing a random hospital employee complaining of poor sleep due to nightmares he had the night before. The Keeper can choose any of the Investigators for this, and it is also possible that more than one Investigator learned the information.

Kingsport and the Hospital

(Page 115)

Using Reassurance while talking to the nurse reveals that the attending physician, Dr. Neuberg, says McKennas condition is very grave indeed. McKennas family may come to visit while the injure Investigator is recuperating. On a die roll, a result of 1 to 4 means his mother, Janice, comes to see him. On a result of 1 or 2, Willsons father, Evert, will come along, too. If they wish, the Investigators may inquire with other hospital employees as to any nightmares they may have had. On a die roll, a result of 1 to 3 means the they are offended and refuse to

answer the question; a result of 4 means they havent had any bad dreams they can remember; a result of 5 means theyve slept poorly; and a result of 6 means they vaguely remember strange dreams of darkness and war and death. Even outside the hospital they see people nodding off, or overhear complaints about lack of sleep. If asked, these people reveal they slept poorly, or had terrible dreams. This discovery causes a 2-point Stability test.

Night Two: The Night War Continues

(Page 118)

The Keeper should again track each Investigators Stability pool loss, as these totals are halved once the dream ends.

The Dream Begins

(Page 118)

Arkham Investigations
The McKenna Family
(Page 116)

It doesnt take Assess Honesty to see the elder McKenna is sorely disappointed in his son, and maybe always has been. Any Investigator who saw the silhouette of the mountain in The Night War and likened it to a brooding man may make a Stability test against difficulty 5 which, if successful, allows the Investigator to realize Evert McKenna resembles the looming mountain.

One or more of the Investigators may recognize one of the menThomas Linche. If the Keeper wishes him to be recognized, he or she can choose any Investigator likely to do so. With a Flattery 1-point spend, the Investigators can convince the three soldiers to accompany them in their search for McKenna and the missing patrol. Keepers Note: If Private Linche is killed during the dream, he dies in real life too. In such an event, each Investigator must make a 2point Stability test for possibly hastening the mans death.

Events and Encounters

(Page 118)

Brothers in Arms?
The Miskatonic Valley Veterans Home
(Page 117)

Investigators must make a 1-point Stability test for seeing these disfigured soldiers. Their tour of the home causes a 2-point Stability test.

As before, the Keeper is urged to occasionally have the Investigators cross fire zones, each requiring 1d6 rounds of Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4, with each failure calling for a roll on the Random Movement Event Table.

The Medical Tent

(Page 119)

Thomas Linche
(Page 117-118)

Thomas Linche is found in his dingy room at the Borden Arms, but only on a result of 1 or 2 on a die roll. He returns a few hours later. If he has been drinking, Linche is in tears by the end; it is a 1-point Stability test to witness his emotional collapse.

The Investigators must make only 2-point Stability tests for seeing the wounded and maimed here on this second visit. On a result of 1 or 2 on a die roll, they find a wounded soldier who recognizes the area depicted on the map.

The Stretcher Bearers

(Page 119)

The Investigators come across a group of 1d6+1 stretcher bearers gathering up the bodies of the fallen. As the Investigators approach, a Sense Trouble test against difficulty 6 recognizes the stretcher bearers as Gas Mask Men. The Investigators can then choose to attack or avoid the scavenging menaces.

The Brooding Mountain

(Page 119)

Sniper, long distance slayer

Athletics 9, Health 8, Firearms 13, Weapons 10 Hit Threshold: 4 Alertness Modifier: +1 Weapon: +1 (rifle), +0 (bayonet) Armor: steel helmet, greatcoat Stability Loss: +0

An Assess Honesty or Psychoanalysis 1-point spend theorizes that perhaps, like McKennas father, the mountain is looking down on Willson, and that he perhaps can be located by following the mountain-fathers gaze. Estimating where the mountain is gazing requires a Stability test against difficulty 8, which each Investigator may attempt only once per night.

Gas!

(Page 120)

The Sentinels
(Page 119)

As the Investigators cross a wasteland of shell craters, corpses, barbed wire and barricades, a Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4 notes the heads and rifles of several entrenched Skull Soldiers. They are facing into the No Mans Land the Investigators are crossing. If more than one Investigator succeeds, the other Investigator sees the heads and rifles of countless Gas Mask Men facing toward No Mans Land from the opposite side of the field. This dilemma causes the Investigators to make a 4-point Stability test.

Sniper!
(Page 119)

The first shot is at a random Investigator or accompanying soldier, and does normal damage if it hits. If an Investigator makes an Athletics or Fleeing test against difficulty 4 he or she is able to find full cover from the sniper. Investigators in cover are safe as long as they do not fire back or otherwise move into the open. Any Investigators who are exposed, partially or completely, will be potential targets of the sniper each round. Investigators making Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 6 spot the muzzle flash of the snipers rifle, and may attempt to flank him. Failing this, it is a Stealth test against difficulty 5 to slip away from the murderous rifleman; any failed test may bring another shot from the sniper, who can fire every round (the Keeper may choose to keep track of the snipers ammo and have him reload as necessary). Investigators can piggyback to make one Stealth test. The Investigators can fire back, but it is a Firearms test against difficulty 5 due to the snipers cover.

Allow each Investigator to make a Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4 to note the pale yellow smoke or fog emanating from the fresh shell craters. An Investigator who was in the war recognizes the dread gas drifting toward them. If there are no veterans among the Investigators, Investigators who made the Sense Trouble test recognize it. Anyone who recognizes the weapon and its horrible effects must make a 3point Stability test. If they try to outrun the gas, an Investigator needs to make an Athletics or Fleeing test against difficulty 6 or suffer the effects of the gas. Anyone donning a gas mask must make an Athletics or Fleeing test against difficulty 5 to put it on correctly, otherwise he or she only gets half the normal protection provided by the mask. Investigators who try to escape and have gas masks in their possession can make one test, putting the mask on if they dont get succeed in getting away. War veterans automatically put the mask on correctly, and may help one other person do so before the gas reaches them. When the gas reaches the Investigators, its acid tongues burn each of them for 1d6-2 damage, calling for a further 3-point Stability test if they passed the first one. Those in gas masks suffer no further damage, but the burning is painful enoughincrease the Difficulty Numbers of all Athletics and Fleeing tests by 1 for the remainder of this dream. Anyone caught without their mask suffers the full potency of the mustard gas. He or she must make a Health test against difficulty 4. If the test is successful, the Investigator takes 4 points of damage, applied at a rate of 2 points per hour for the remainder of this dream. If the test if failed, the victim suffers the full effects of the gas, taking 8 points of damage, applied at the same rate. Those suffering the gass full effects

also suffer the effects of being hurt for the rest of the dream (if the Investigator is or becomes genuinely hurt, the Difficulty Numbers of tests and contests are increased by both effects, for a total of 2).

Weapon: +12 (kick or swat) Armor: -2 (tough skin) Stability Loss: +2

Artillery from Hell

(Page 121)

The Morrigan
(Page 121)

Investigators must make a 2-point Stability test hearing the bird speak. An Anthropology or Occult 1-point spend identifies these names as a trio of Celtic war goddesses known for their bloodthirsty ways. Witnesses make 2-point Stability tests for seeing the raven pluck the Investigators eye out. The actual victim suffers 1d6-1 damage and makes a 3-point Stability test. The Keeper should roll a die to find out how long the raven takes to return. On a result of 1 or 2, it takes one hour; on a result of 3 or 4, it takes two hours; and on a result of 5 or 6, it takes three hours. During this time, the Investigators can experience other encounters, perhaps one per hour. An Investigator who surrenders an eye has the Difficulty Numbers of all sight-related tests and contests increased by 2 during this and all subsequent dreams for the rest of his or her life. In addition, if the Investigator fails a Stability test against difficulty 4, he or she may also lose sight in the missing eye in the waking world, temporarily or permanently, as the Keeper desires.

In the distance, the Investigators can pick out the unlikely shape of a willow tree standing alone amidst this shattered landscape. Anyone who saw the willow tree outside Willson McKennas window in Arkham recognizes that very same tree, here, amid all the madness. Have each Investigator roll a die, and then let them be killed in the shelling, beginning with the highest roll first. In the event of tied rolls, the Keeper should choose who dies first. The Investigator who makes the lowest roll nearly reaches an old shell crater before he or she is hurled forward.

Day Three
(Page 121-122)

The Colossus of Corpses

(Page 121)

They may try to hide from it if they wish, finding shelter in a trench and evading the gaze of the Colossus, making a Stealth test against difficulty 4. The Investigators can piggyback during this test. If the Investigators do not successfully hide or try to flee, the Colossus strides toward them, smashing and grabbing its victims and pressing their bodies into its own. The creature flees if it loses 25 or more points of Health.

The Colossus of Corpses, walking death

Athletics 30, Health 49, Struggling 12 Hit Threshold: 2 Alertness Modifier: +1

The next morning the Investigators awake from their nightmares, exactly as before. Those failing Stability tests against difficulty 4 have only vague memories of some parts of the dream, while successful tests indicate they remember the nightmare in its entirety. Once again, the Keeper should halve the total Stability losses incurred during the nightmare, and apply them to the Investigators. And again, no Investigator develops a lasting mental illness as a result of the ordeal. All other General ability pools (including Health) are refreshed up to the level they were before the nightmare began. Any Investigator who took the full effect of the mustard gas now suffers a minor case of pneumonia, resulting in a temporary loss of 1d6-3 Health points, recoverable at a rate of 1 point per day. Each Investigator should make a Stability test against difficulty 4. Any Investigator who fails this test should suffer at least one of the following Nightmare Effects, as many as one such hallucination per point the test was missed by. Each of these flashbacks causes a 1-point Stability test, and lasts so briefly the Investigator cant be sure what he or she saw. The full list and details can be found in the original.

7. If Private Linche died during the dream, he may be one of the soldiers seen, causing a 2point Stability test.

Stability Loss: +1

The Colossus and the Ghost Gas Fires

(Page 123-124)

McKennas Condition
(Page 122)

Both doctors look grim, and Investigators overhear Wilson whisper McKenna probably has no more than a couple days to live, if that.

Night Three: The Night War Ends

(Page 122)

The Keeper should again keep track of each Investigators Stability pool loss, as these are again to be halved at the conclusion of the nightmare.

The Dream Begins

(Page 122)

As before, if Linche is dies in this nightmare, he dies in real life as well, causing each Investigator to make a 2-point Stability test in the waking world when they learn of the veterans death.

The Investigators may have previously lost some of their number to the wandering charnel giant, the Colossus of Corpses, and a Stability test against difficulty 4 guesses that any living victims might be rescued if the Colossus is somehow destroyed. The Investigators come upon 2d6+6 Gas Mask Men busy building a huge bonfire. Stability tests should be called for each time one of the participants arrives on the scene (but the normal rules on Stability loss caps apply). The Investigators can either ignore this conflict, watch it from a distance, or try to intercede. If the Colossus goes down, the Investigators note its searchlight eyes are still lit, and the Ghost Gas is warily avoiding them. Each searchlight requires an Athletics rating of 5 to maneuver and aim, with an Athletics test against the Gass Hit Threshold to hit with the device. Each successful searchlight attack causes 1d6 damage.

Events and Encounters

(Page 123)

Private McKennas War

(Page 124)

The Keeper should have the Investigators occasionally forced to cross fire zones, calling for Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4 to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Event Table.

The Medical Tent

(Page 123)

There is no one here and nothing left to help the Investigators in their quest. The devastation calls for a 3-point Stability tests.

Trench Crawler, carrion collector

(Page 123)

Grapple: The Trench Crawler can attack twice against one opponent, against a difficulty of the targets Hit Threshold. If both grapple attacks succeed, the victim is grasped by additional limbs, indicating 1d6+1 damage each round thereafter, unless the victim breaks free with an Athletics test against difficulty 6. Athletics 4, Grapple 14, Health 19 Hit Threshold: 3 Weapon: +3 (grapple), see above Armor: -2 (rubbery hide and clothing)

Here the Keeper should have each Investigator make 1d6 Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4. Each failed test indicates a roll with a +1 modifier on the Random Movement Event Table. As they cross the blasted ground heading towards the spires, Outdoorsman notes the lonely willow tree in the distance. If the Investigators begin crying out for McKenna, the area suddenly explodes with the whine of machine gun fire. To reach cover, each Investigator makes 2 Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4, each failure indicating an unmodified roll on the Random Movement Event Table. Once they reach cover, they soon hear the sound of sobbing coming from somewhere nearby. It takes a while longer to figure out the direction of the sobbing. Following the sound over open territory, another 2 Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4 are needed to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Event Table.

The Investigators spot the youth crouched and shivering in a nearby shell crater. The Investigators can rush to his side, but only after a single Stability or Sense Trouble test against difficulty 4 to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Event Table. Anyone who looks up and sees the foreboding figure must make a 1-point Stability test. Putting a bullet in McKennas head is easy enough, but this act of murder and his terrified screams for help or mercy automatically causes a 5-point Stability test. If the Investigators try to take McKenna to safety, the battlefieldtriggered by McKennas subconsciousbristles with gunfire and mortar shells until they decide this is too dangerous a tactic. Each round they must make Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4 to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Event Table. McKenna also tests, and if he is killed the dream abruptly ends. On the other hand, an Assess Honesty or Psychoanalysis 1-point spend guesses McKenna needs to find the men from his patrol, otherwise hes afraid to leave the shelter of the crater. McKenna can lead the Investigators toward his fallen comrades, but each such passage requires 2 Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4 to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Event Table with a +1 modifier. As long as they are seeking his companions, McKenna doesnt need to make these tests. Reaching cover beside one of McKennas fellow trench raiders, the Investigators find a corpse. This causes a 3-point Stability test. If the Keeper thinks the Investigators have had too easy a time of it so far, they may need to search for another one of McKennas fellows. As they hurry to reach the fallen man, they must make 2 Stability or Sense Trouble tests against difficulty 4 to avoid rolling on the Random Movement Event Table with a +1 modifier. Only those who succeeded in the previous 3-point Stability test need to make another.

Day Three: Possible Endings

(Page 125)

As before, the Keeper should halve the total Stability losses accrued during this, and any Investigator failing a Stability test against difficulty 4 has only foggy and incomplete memories of his nightmare in its entirety.

Conclusion
(Page 125-126)

If McKenna dies without accepting the deaths of his fellow soldiers, the Investigators must make a 3-point Stability test for their inability to help the young man face his guilty conscience. The Investigators may have decided McKennas wartime nightmares and their deleterious effect on others required drastic action. If they kill him in his hospital bed, it requires a 5-point Stability test, the same as killing him in the nightmare world. One reward for the conclusion of the scenario is the gaining or improvement of the Dreaming ability. This ability appears in the various editions of the Dreamlands sourcebook. Keepers who wish to include the ability in their games may use the following conversion.

Dreaming (General)
The Investigator receives this ability the first time he or she enters the Dreamlands. It begins with a rating equal to the Investigators Stability rating. It may only be increased by spending time in the Dreamlands; it increases by 1 point for every week spent there. Note: Investigators who take part in this scenario receive the ability at the conclusion in the same way they would if they had entered the Dreamlands. Those who already have the ability have it increased by 1 point. Dreaming is used to alter Dreamlands reality; however, it can be performed only in an ordinary dream. The creation may take a single dream and Dreaming test to complete, or it may require many successful creative efforts over many dreams. The Dreaming tests base Difficulty Number is 3. The value of the creation or alteration is added to the Difficulty Number of the test. If the dreams creative impulse comes from the dreamers subconscious, the Keeper may decide what is created in whole or in part.

Stability point spends are required in the creation process. Especially large or complex objects may require several dream-sessions before enough Stability points can be spent to form it. The Dreaming test is made after all desired points are spent. The Keeper decides upon the value of the desired creation. If the Stability points spent equal or exceed the value, and the characters test is a success, then the object is created properly. The value is based on the most important attribute of the object, whether that is size, quality, or whatever, as decided by the Keeper. Living things normally have twice the value of their non-living equivalents. The example values included here can provide some rough guidelines for the Keeper. An ordinary, medium-sized object, such as a sword, might cost 3 Stability points. If the sword were specially engraved and bejeweled, it would be a higher value, possibly 5, 7, or even higher, especially if the sword were magical. A dog might be assigned a value of 6 Stability points. A beautiful woman might cost 16 or more points. A painting of the caliber of the Mona Lisa might have a value of 25 or even 40. A modest palace might cost 55-120 Stability points. Alterations may cost less than outright creations, depending on the nature of the alteration and the Keepers desires. For example, a shade tree transformed to a wooden bench does not have its basic nature altered, and the creation of the bench, which might normally cost 11 Stability points, may only cost 2-8 Stability points. A statue of a woman transformed into a beautiful living woman may only cost 8 Stability points instead of 16. If both the nature and the shape of the object are unchanged, the alteration may cost even less, depending on the Keepers decision. Changing a shade tree into a fruit tree might only cost 1-3 Stability tests. A dreamer normally cannot make alterations to or create an object of more value than his or her Dreaming rating. By the expenditure of Stability rating points, the dreamer can overcome this limit, however. For each Stability rating point expended in this act of creation, this limit doubles. The

Difficulty Number of the test caps at 3 plus the dreamers Dreaming rating, but if the test is failed all the Stability rating points sacrificed are wasted. Stability rating points can also be expended to make the object permanent. Generally, one rating point must be expended per act of creation, plus one rating point for each rating point that the creation cost. Especially vital creations may cost more Stability rating points, at the judgment of the Keeper. It is possible for natives and other permanent residents to use the Dreaming ability, but the Difficulty Number for their tests is increased by 2. They do not need to expend Stability rating points to make their creations permanent; they will only fade away after the creator dies or is somehow transported out of the Dreamlands, unless Stability rating points were spent on the creation. Most native residents of the Dreamlands do not possess the Dreaming ability.

All products and trademarks mentioned here are the properties of their respective owners. Trail of Cthulhu is 2008 Pelgrane Press Ltd. Call of Cthulhu is 1981, Chaosium, Inc. New Tales of Miskatonic Valley is 2008, Miskatonic River Press. The Night War is written by Kevin Ross. This conversion is written by Christopher Smith Adair.